The invention relates to a method for the decomposition of biological cells in an industrial process with pulsed electrical fields and a reactor in a processing line for performing the method.
Pulsed electrical fields with field strengths in the range of 1-100 kV/cm generate irreversible pore openings in the membrane of biological cells. This effect, which is called electroporation, is used for efficiently providing access to the content of plant cells and for killing microorganisms and for pasteurizing.
Other methods for the release of cytoplasm are the thermal treatment or pressing. At about 72° C., the cells membranes of plant cells denature such that the cell content is released. By compression, the outer pressure results in the rupture of the cells walls and the release of the cell content. Both classical processes have grave disadvantages: The thermal treatment consumes a relatively large amount of energy and damages the cell content. The mechanical compressing requires relatively expensive apparatus and the degree of the decomposition is generally lower than with thermal decomposition. A combination of two processes resides in cold-pressing and a subsequent dissolution of the cell content by solvents.
The electroporation process has been known since the sixties of the last century and since then the phenomenon of permeabilization or, respectively, poration of cell membranes is being scientifically examined. DB 12 37 541 describes the electroporation for common agricultural products such as the decomposition of starch in potatoes.
WO99/6463 discloses another electroporation method. The advantages of this method in the processing of sugar beets before the beets are thermally or mechanically further processed are shown. In this case, the thermal treatment reflects the state-of-the-art. The mechanical process is also described in DE 197 36 000 A1.
In the field of electroporation, no method and no apparatus or respectively reactor is known which permits processing on an industrial scale.
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a method for the electroporation of cellular biological materials and also a reactor in a process line for performing the method.